First gen 3sgte. Today my upper radiator hose exploded, making it the 3rd hose in 2 weeks. The car runs perfect, idles perfect, doesn't smoke, no coolant in oil. Have any of you experienced something similar? What could be causing such excessive pressure in the cooling system? The car has an aftermarket dualcore radiator also.
Bursting coolant hoses
- Thread starter Mattst165
- Start date
alltrac801
New member
Is it the same hose or a different hose every time?
alltrac801
New member
That's exactly what happened to me too. I changed all the coolant hoses on my car and havent had a problem in like 3 or 4 years now.
Ditto, this happened to me about 5 years ago after I swapped in a jdm engine. Ended up just replacing everything that was left after I had 3 hoses go.
Btw the hfh and hfhoe arent really that bad to change on our cars since the front of the engine isnt right up against the firewall like in an mr2. The hfhoe can be changed just pulling the alternator and brackets out of the way. The hfh can be changed by removing the oil filter and cooler and use a long set of needlenose with a 45* angle on it.
Btw the hfh and hfhoe arent really that bad to change on our cars since the front of the engine isnt right up against the firewall like in an mr2. The hfhoe can be changed just pulling the alternator and brackets out of the way. The hfh can be changed by removing the oil filter and cooler and use a long set of needlenose with a 45* angle on it.
alltrac801
New member
Mattst165":1bt7vghx said:
Yeah first my radiator was leaking a little so I replaced it. Then my upper radiator hose blew and it didn't look bad. Next, a few days late, another coolant hose off the coolant tree burst. After another couple days a coolant hose under the previous hose burst! So I said F it and replaced all coolant hoses.
Well I've replaced both upper and lower hoses, took it for a test drive today, and it did fine until I got home. Popped the hood and the upper hose looked like it was seconds away from exploding. After about 10 mins of it being off I start to hear hissing from what sounded like inside the rad, hose was still horribly swollen. At this point the system has been flushed nearly 10 times. I went to a few auto parts stores to dig through their radiator caps and I can't find a single one that will fit this aftermarket rad. The lower hose isn't swollen at all, just the upper. Really stumped on this
Magroo":7eguh21f said:
The fan is wired to run 100% of the time, no issue there. I'm skeptical considering the head gasket because even if it was, wouldn't it still relieve excessive pressure and into the reservoir tank if the system was working properly? Also like I stated the car runs perfectly fine, no coolant in oil, white smoke, and there are no exhaust gas bubbles when I have it running with the cap off.
93celicaconv
Member
And what is the radiator cap pressure relief valve that you are using?Mattst165":1usua8y3 said:
93celicaconv":2fkm2amc said:
It's the off brand cap that came with the radiator, it's 1.1 bar which I believe is 16 psi? From what I've seen these cars are supposed to have 13-14 psi radiator caps. I can't find a replacement cap that will fit anywhere. So I'm thinking my next move is to just buy an oem radiator and run with the stock cap.
93celicaconv
Member
1.1 bar is 16 psi.
Did the cap really come with the radiator? Or did you acquire the car with the aftermarket radiator and cap?
I do believe every style of cap out there can be had as 14 psi or 16 psi. I wouldn't change the radiator. I do believe hoses get old and brittle, and if that is followed by an increase in pressure, this hose bursting trend will likely continue, but in all honesty, it will happen with a 14 psi cap too, just a little later in time. If your engine was previously run hard and had a lot of heat soak in the engine compartment, your hoses, wiring connectors, etc., are likely all getting very brittle.
Did the cap really come with the radiator? Or did you acquire the car with the aftermarket radiator and cap?
I do believe every style of cap out there can be had as 14 psi or 16 psi. I wouldn't change the radiator. I do believe hoses get old and brittle, and if that is followed by an increase in pressure, this hose bursting trend will likely continue, but in all honesty, it will happen with a 14 psi cap too, just a little later in time. If your engine was previously run hard and had a lot of heat soak in the engine compartment, your hoses, wiring connectors, etc., are likely all getting very brittle.
underscore
Well-known member
I'd pull the rad and do a pressure test of the cap before buying a whole new rad. I've had two no name caps that were faulty from the start, both came with the rads and both wouldn't hold pressure, but I could see a poorly made cap hold too much pressure as well.
93celicaconv
Member
Or a cap not made for the radiator neck - sometimes a cap has a longer distance from the seal under the cap (top of the radiator neck) to the relief seal (bottom sealing surface within the neck), causing the spring to be pushed together farther than it was designed, which causes a significantly higher force (system pressure) before it releases. I would look at that cap to ensure it is the proper one for that radiator.
the car came with this radiator and cap, it made a 4 hr drive back home with no issue, the next day is when it started. Like I said earlier in the post I've gone to 3 different places and I can't find any cap that will fit this radiator. An oem radiator is only 100$ and I'd trust it more than this offbrand aluminum one, I've had issues with them on other cars.